We take so many freedoms for granted -- but there are few rights we enjoy that were not granted through struggle. These include the 40-hour work week, workplace safety laws, and relative freedom from discrimination. But it wasn't always this way. This blog is a brief introduction to human rights in Ontario.
I saw a funny video blog from a guy talking about gay marriage, and his comment was "People keep talking about legalizing gay marriage, but I haven't heard anything about gay divorce... IT'S A TRAP YA'LL!"
After marriage was legalized in Canada, there had to be a precedent set for the first legal divorce. I read about it in the papers. Here's Wikipedia's take: On September 13, 2004, a lesbian couple known as "M.M." and "J.H." in Ontario were granted Canada's first same-sex divorce. Their initial divorce application had been denied based on the fact that the federal Divorce Act defines spouse as "either of a man or a woman who are married to each other". However, Madam Justice Ruth Mesbur of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the definition of "spouse" in the Divorce Act was unconstitutional.
In June 2005, a lesbian couple in British Columbia, whose names cannot be released, obtained a similar ruling.[91]